Code Libra- A Bloody Revolution
by MementoMori115
Summary: The eyes of the King who rules over all. The eyes of the God who sees all there is. The power to subjugate, and the power to observe. Despite their differences, both wielders will go to great lengths all for the sake of those they hold dear.
1. Chapter 1

"... Urghhh. I swear to Me that author-teme is the biggest friggin moron your world has ever seen. He lacks any sense of priority or organization. He's like Doug from Up.

'Alright, time to work on the next chapter of Shinobi Tra- Oh! What's this series called Blood Blockade Batt- Squirrel!'

Seriously, this shtick is getting stale, even for me. Apparently he saw some interesting parallels between the main protagonists of both series, and decided to do something about it. The dumbass doesn't even realize how unpopular this xover will be by virtue of one of the series not being a very well-known one. Still, going in you'll see he used his 'author powers' to shift a few things about for the sake of the story.

Whoop-dee-doo..."

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Lelouch vi Britannia, known only as Lelouch Lamperouge to those around him, moved his knight piece across the chessboard as he dispatched another one of his opponents pawns. His unfortunate adversary was an arrogant Nobleman of Britannia who had far too much money than he was deserving. So the exiled prince felt it necessary to lessen the mans burden. Plus, he was always happy to have an excuse to stick it to one of his fellow countrymen. Making a nice sum of cash on the side was just an added bonus. And tormenting the poor bastard by running circles around him was also enjoyable, especially as his face shifted through a myriad of colors following every move.

"Hey Lelouch, do you really think now's the best time to prolong this guys suffering?" asked one of his two companions. "If we don't head back soon, Shirley is gonna get suspicious of what we're really doing. And then Nunally will find out from her and get upset."

The dark-haired teen let out a small sigh as he nodded his head in agreement. "True. Best to finish up before that happens."

It only took another two moves before the teen declared 'checkmate', and the Nobleman reluctantly parted with the money he wagered as if it were a precious friend he would never see again. O' how Lelouch was amused by the look of defeat on the arrogant prick's face.

As Lelouch pocketed his winnings, he and his two friends made their way outside and were greeted by a news report on the outdoor jumbo screen about the recent terrorist bombing at a Britannian lab. And it just so happened that the person giving the report was the Viceroy of Area-11, the Third Prince of Britannia, Clovis la Britannia himself.

Lelouch's eyes narrowed at the sight of the pompous ass that was his elder half-brother. Back when he was still a member of the Royal Family, Lelouch did well to conceal his distaste for the arrogant fool. He lacked any sense of strategic capability, and would likely fold like a house of cards the moment things go south.

So one would have to forgive Lelouch if after Clovis' 'charismatic and inspiring' speech, the teen felt like scoffing and shaking his head in disappointment. Still, that would be out of character for him, so he restrained himself. One of his friends however, had no such qualms about voicing his opinion.

"Man, that guy must really like the sound of his own voice. Can't help but feel like he's trying to compensate for something." remarked the 'oddball' of the trio. Their fellow teen was often referred to as the 'quirkiest' male member of the Ashford Student Council. He never had any problem stating what was on his mind, and could easily shift between being confident in the face of Milly, to cowering in the face of an 'angry' Shirley. Not to mention he always had a strange pair of goggles hanging from his neck, along with the fact that his eyes never opened wider than what was necessary for him to see. There was even a reward for the first person who could get a picture of his eyes when they are completely open.

"Careful what you say Leonardo." remarked Rivalz. "I'm sure the Viceroy and his men would take offense to that."

Leonardo chuckled at that. "I'm sure they have better things to do than crack down on little ol' me. Take Lelouch and his constant disgracing of Noble's in chess matches." he passed the buck as he jabbed a thumb at their partner in crime.

"Trust me, no Noble is going to make a formal complaint about how a high-schooler absolutely crushed them at a game of chess." said teen responded in confidence.

Having no further reason to stay put, the trio hopped on Rivalz's motorbike and side-car and made their way back towards Ashford Academy. As they sped down the road, Lelouch's gaze drifted towards the Shinjuku ghetto's. He found it deplorable that a once prosperous country like Japan had been reduced to such a state. Everything in sight was the result of his bastard father and his desire to continually expand Britannia's influence across the world. The exiled Prince actually enjoyed his short time in Japan when it was still Japan. Now it's nothing more than a number, stripped of the right to even bear a name.

"What's with the long face Lelouch?" Leonardo asked from his seat behind Rivalz. "I'd thought you'd be happy with your winnings. That, and knocking a Noble off his high-horse."

The dark-haired boy quickly schooled his expression as his gaze returned to the road ahead of them. "Just trying to think if I have enough time to study for tomorrows math test."

"Gah! That's right, we have a test!" Leonardo exclaimed as he began to panic. "It completely slipped my mind! I'm totally going to fail!"

Rivalz was tempted to laugh at his friends predicament, but with him being in a perfect position to strangle him, he wisely decided against it. That didn't stop Lelouch though.

"Quit laughing! I need you to help me study as soon as we get back home!"

"Sure." Lelouch replied earnestly. Just before his lips curled into a smirk. "All you have to do in exchange is let me see your eyes."

Somehow Leonardo managed to narrow his eyes even more than they currently were, and gave Lelouch a look of betrayal. "You are an evil monster. And now I'll fail the test as a result!"

"You seriously don't want to show anyone your eyes, huh?" Rivalz opined as he turned off one of the exits. "Why? Will they turn people to stone?"

"No, they'll turn them to glass." Leonardo replied in deadpan.

"You can't be seri-"

***BEEEEEP!***

The trio were startled by the loud truck horn that went off behind them. Turning their heads back slightly, they saw a massive nondescript truck that was almost on top of them. Though they couldn't get a good view of them, the driver seemed to be making some very rude gestures with the intent for them to get out of the way.

"Whoa!" Rivalz exclaimed as he was forced to the right in order to avoid getting rammed. Though it seemed karma was on point as the truck proceeded to crash into the tunnel entrance leading to the ghetto.

"Geez! To think that could've been us."

"Maybe next time you should think about going faster on the freeway." Lelouch remarked as he and Leonardo hopped off the bike to observe the scene.

The boys noticed that numerous other cars had come to a stop to gawk at the scene and take pictures, though no one had moved to help. Before he even knew what he was doing, Lelouch was already halfway to the truck with the intent to see if the driver was okay. It seemed that Leonardo shared his sentiment, as the narrow-eyed boy was right by his side. Seeing as how the sides of the truck were blocked by fallen girders, the teens only option was to climb on top of the truck in order to make their way forward. Being that Leonardo was the more physically fit of the two, he had already made it to an open hatch near the front and had stuck his head inside.

"Hello? Anyone alive in here?"

"Poor choice of words Leonardo." Lelouch remarked as he knelt beside his friend.

Suddenly the truck jerked backwards as the driver put it in reverse. Leonardo slipped and fell through the open hatch. However during his descent he tried to grab something to stop his fall. That something ended up being Lelouch's leg. As the duo slammed onto the floor of the truck, they were both knocked unconscious.

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Lelouch was the first to regain consciousness after their unfortunate tumble into the cargo hold of the truck. He had propped Leonardo up against one of the walls, and was about to inspect the strange container which was the sole object in the truck with them.

"_Attention! Pull the vehicle over immediately!"_

Lelouch's head snapped upwards towards the source of the sudden voice. It was a loudspeaker that originated from somewhere above the truck. And from the sound of things, it was coming from a VTOL.

"Ah! I wasn't speeding officer, I swear!" Leonardo shouted in response to the voice as he woke up from his 'nap'.

"Calm down, your criminal record won't be starting today. We just fell in the truck." Lelouch explained as he helped Leonardo to his feet.

But his bravado was dashed moments later at the sound of gunfire pelting the hull of the vehicle.

"We're getting shot at!" Leonardo cried in alarm. "We try to be good samaritans, and our reward is turning into target practice!"

Doing his best to maintain his own calm, Lelouch needed to settle Leonardo down or else his mood would start to effect him as well.

"Listen!" he exclaimed as he grabbed the teens shoulders. "All we need to do is wait until this whole debacle is over, and then we explain our situation to the authorities. We both have our school ID's on us, so I'm sure they will believe our story."

Leonardo nodded in agreement. "Y-yeah! You're totally right! I'm sure things wi-"

"_Terrorists; stop now or else we will open fire again!"_

Leonardo let out a noise that could only described as the sound of a cat being strangled with pasta.

Any opportunity the two had for further reaction to that bombshell had to be put to the side, as the door to the main cab began to open. Someone was coming!

Lelouch quickly ducked behind the cover of the large container while dragging Leonardo with him.

In walked a redheaded female who looked to be around the same age as the two boys. However Lelouch had the strange sensation that he had seen her somewhere before.

"Hey, doesn't she look familiar?" Leonardo asked in a faint whisper. Apparently he was of the same mind as Lelouch.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Kallen! Things aren't looking too good!" shouted the driver up front. "Why don't we use _it _here?!"

"Use your brain for once Nagata!" the girl -Kallen- responded. "If we do that, this will turn into an entire bloodbath! Even the civilians will get involved because of it!"

As Kallen made her way to the next compartment of the truck, Lelouch swore he heard that name somewhere before. No way it could be a coincidence that she looked familiar as well.

"Kallen Stadtfelt." Leonardo spoke quietly.

Lelouch's gaze snapped the the teen at his side, just in time to see Leonardo's eyes fully close before they could be seen. Then his mind registered what Leonardo said.

"Isn't that the sickly girl from school who's always absent?"

Leonardo nodded. "That's definitely her. Though why she's here is a mystery. As well as the reason for her frail persona at school."

Lelouch could ask the same of Leonardo, who was now acting much more calm and collected than he was moments before.

But the nerves of steel he had grown had withered away moments later, when the entire truck shook and the sounds of combat returned in full force.

"I can't die like this! There's still so many things I wanted to do with my life, like live!"

It wasn't much longer before the unintentional stowaways finally caught a break when the truck came to an abrupt and dead halt.

"Ahh... Is the ride over yet?" Leonardo wondered aloud as he stood up from the fetal position.

"I hope that's the case." Lelouch replied as he dusted himself off.

Suddenly the door to the truck opened and a Britannian soldier stood in the doorway. He immediately spotted Lelouch and rushed him, quickly overpowered the teen, and pinned him to the ground with a throat grab.

"Enough mindless murder, terrorist!" the masked soldier snarled at him.

"W-wait! I'm not..." Lelouch choked out as he tried to rip the mans hand away from his throat.

The soldier was about to knock Lelouch out with a swift punch, but his attack was impeded as a pair of arms looped under his own and ripped him away from the student.

"Leave my buddy alone!" Leonardo yelled as he spun and threw the soldier against the wall of the truck. "There is such a thing as too gung-ho!"

Lelouch coughed as he rubbed his throat, trying to alleviate the pain. Meanwhile Leonardo quickly shifted back to a more timid nature as he held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry! We're just a couple of accidental stowaways! Please don't kill me or Lelouch mister soldier!"

"Lelouch?" the soldier remarked in confusion. His gaze then shifted towards said teen and he froze up. "No way..."

"You say enough mindless murder," Lelouch started as he ignored the soldier's reaction. "then tell that to the bastards who go around subjugating everyone in sight!"

Then the soldier did something neither student expected. He removed his helmet, revealing a familiar face to the exiled prince. "Lelouch... It's me, Suzaku."

Now it was Lelouch's turn to stiffen in shock as he was greeted by the boy who he hadn't seen for seven long years. The same boy who helped protect him and his sister during the invasion.

"Suzaku?!" he exclaimed in shock. "Y-you became a Britannian soldier?!"

"What of it?" the Japanese boy countered. "I guess you decided to become a-"

"No!" Lelouch cut him off before he could finish that line of thought. "I'm not a terrorist! This truck crashed and me and Leonardo climbed up to help, but it suddenly took off and we fell inside!"

"Technically I fell in and dragged Lelouch down with me..." Leonardo added in an apologetic tone.

Before their argument could go any further, the large container began to glow and emit light.

"Shit! The poison gas is about to be released!" Suzaku shouted in alarm.

"Poison gas?!" cried Leonardo. "Why are so many things trying to kill me today?!"

Lelouch was suddenly tackled to the ground by Suzaku, who then forced his own gas-mask over Lelouch's own face.

The sphere's four lids popped open, and instead of poison gas, a beautiful girl appeared. She had long, green hair and was restrained by a prisoner's straight-jacket.

"That's the prettiest poison gas I've ever seen." Leonardo opined as he peeked his head around the corner of his cover.

"That is _not _poison gas." Suzaku was so kind to point out as he and Lelouch stood back up.

Lelouch nodded in agreement as he took a few steps towards the girl. "Something about this screams of foul-play." he remarked as he began to undo the girls bindings. "Be straight with me Suzaku; what the heck does a girl have to do with poison gas?"

"Is that a trick question?" Leonardo nervously opined as he walked over to help Lelouch.

Suzaku let out a sigh of frustration. "That's what my briefing said it was. But now I'm having second guesses."

As the three boys and unconscious girl made their way out of the truck, they were assaulted by a sudden flash of bright light and the sound of guns being leveled at them.

"This stopped being funny after the second close-call..." the narrow-eyed teen muttered weakly.

**A short time later...**

"Okay, no student should have to go through so much danger on any one day!" Leonardo spoke as he and Lelouch fled from the soldiers with the girl in hand. Suzaku had been shot and left for dead by members of Clovis' Royal Guard, and it seemed that the two students were next on their kill list.

"Our biggest problems should be studying for tests and trying to get a date with some hot chick! Not dodging gunfire in the middle of a warzone!"

"Quit your complaining and keep moving!" responded Lelouch. "We need to get out of their encirclement before they track us down!"

"Easier said then done!" Leonardo replied as he pulled out his cell-phone and began to dial. "I ain't dying like this! Time to call my life-line!"

Lelouch had no idea what his friend was talking about, perhaps he just cracked under the pressure and was trying to call the police for help. Not that it would do them any good.

"Hey, Zapp! I'm in a pickle big enough to supply a million cheeseburgers! Can you send me some help?! The Shinjuku ghetto, that's where! Precise location? Tell her to follow the trail of carnage that's chasing after two Ashford students!"

Yeah, Lelouch was certain that Leonardo had snapped.

"Ten minutes?! We aren't gonna live that long!"

The call cut out and Leonardo whimpered. "Well, it's been nice knowing you Lelouch..."

Lelouch smacked Leonardo across the face, though it was fairly weak given his strength. "Pull yourself together! You don't think I'm panicking like crazy too?! But if we want to get out of this mess alive, we need to keep our heads on straight!"

Leonardo shook the dizziness from his head before clenching his fists. "You're right. As small as the odds may be, I will do whatever it takes to get out of this. Michella is waiting for me to come home!"

Lelouch nodded. "As is Nunally for me."

Peeking around a corner to see if the coast was clear, Leonardo put together a plan on the spot. "I'm the fastest one here, so I'll go ahead and see if the enemy has made it over this way yet. You two can follow once I give the go-ahead."

It was a half-assed plan that barely even qualified as a strategy, but Lelouch had to admit it was the best they could come up with. He was severely lacking in the endurance department, and the girl was no doubt still weak from her time in captivity.

"Good luck."

"Thanks. I'll need all I can get." Leonardo replied with a thumbs up as he crept forward.

Turns out he was extremely low on luck, as the far wall to the room they were in had exploded inward and flooded the area with light. And of course, the Royal Guard from earlier made their entrance with guns drawn.

"... That's not fair."

The leader of the squad stepped forward to address the trio with an arrogant smile. "Well, well, well, look what we have here~. Three terrorist scum who thought they could get the better of us. I was actually hoping you would give us a better chase than this, but I suppose pathetic worms like yourselves can only do so much."

"W-w-wait!" Leonardo shouted as he stood in front of Lelouch and the girl. "We aren't terrorists! We're just students who got caught up in this mess! You can't do this to us!"

The man chuckled as he drew his side-arm. "On the contrary; Prince Clovis has given me the authority to do whatever I deem necessary to retrieve that girl behind you. So while I could let you plead your case, I think I'll just kill you now and skip the paperwork!"

A gun-shot rang out as the man fired at Leonardo. The teens head snapped backwards and he fell to the ground.

Lelouch was drenched in cold sweat upon seeing his second friend get killed within an hour of the first. His body was numb and adrenaline was forcing his senses into overdrive. Time seemed to slow down as the man shifted his aim to him.

Wait... Time actually had slowed down. It felt like he was having some sort of out-of-body experience.

"You don't want it to end here, do you?" came a soft female voice. Glancing to his right, he saw the verdette looking up at him with interest.

"What...?"

"You still have a reason to live on, yet fate has conspired to end your story here and now. If you possessed power, would you be able to continue living? I propose a deal. In exchange for this power, you must make my one wish come true."

The dark-haired boy was thoroughly confused by what was going on, but listened on with rapt attention.

"Be warned, for accepting this Geass contract you also accept the conditions with which it comes: You will continue to live in the world of humans, yet you will no longer live as one. A different providence. A different time. A different life. The life you have lived up until now will be cast aside, and your humanity will be replaced with something greater."

Lelouch's mind was bombarded by countless flashing images of things he couldn't yet comprehend. A pair of strange planets, an image of the girl, countless people bearing an odd red mark on their foreheads. The girl was offering him something that he would never be able to take back should he regret his choice.

"The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. You are human. You shall be more than human. And then you will be human no more... Are you prepared for this?"

One final image flashed through his mind. The image of his bastard of a father. And while it was not quite the same shape or location, his father bore a red mark of his own.

Steeling his resolve, Lelouch growled in fury. "Very well! I accept your contract -and its conditions!"

With a powerful jolt Lelouch felt his senses return to his body, and time seemed to be restored to normal.

"So kid, why don't you hand over the girl and I'll let you live a few seconds longer~?" the man with the gun remarked with a sneer.

Slowly, Lelouch raised his head up to stare at the ceiling, and let out a dark chuckle. "Say, as a Britannian who despises his own country, how should I live my life?"

The squad leader snorted. "You some kind of radical? Absolutely despicable."

It would take but a moment for him to pull the trigger and kill the teen before him, but something unsettling about the boy caused the man to hesitate.

"What's wrong? Why not shoot? You already killed one innocent kid, so what does it matter if you up the death toll?" Lelouch mocked sardonically. "Or, perhaps you finally realized- The only ones who should kill are the ones who are prepared to be killed!"

His gaze lowered as he stared straight at the soldiers across from him. However the color of his left eye had shifted, changed, and formed a red bird-like shape over his iris. As soon as the soldiers stared into his eye, they were robbed of the ability to move.

"W-what is this?!" the commander choked out.

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you!" the former Prince loudly declared. **"All of you, Die!"**

It was a surreal thing to watch. The soldiers grinned joyously as they pulled out their hand-guns and took aim at their own heads.

"With pleasure, your Highness! FIRE!"

At his command, every present member of Clovis' Royal Guard committed suicide.

For a few moments, the boy was struck with fear at what had just happened. He may not have pulled the actual trigger, but all the men before him died as a result of his actions. Actions he did with the intent to kill.

Fear was soon replaced with a maniacal grin upon realizing just what he was now capable of. But now was not the time for losing his cool- things needed to be done. The first on his list was to close Leonardo's eyes (if they were even open) in order to put his body to rest.

What the teen didn't expect however, was for his fellow student to suddenly lurch upwards with a shout.

"Ahh! That was way too close for comfort!" the teen remarked as he stood up on shaky legs. Hunched over and trying to catch his breath, Leonardo smiled weakly at Lelouch and waved. "Nice to see that we both got out of that with our lives. Though I think I lost a few years just on principle..."

Watching a man that you swore was just killed right in front of you, mysteriously stand back up as if nothing had happened, was more than enough to temporarily stun Lelouch. Even the girl was momentarily taken aback from the turn of events.

"What?" Leonardo spoke as Lelouch looked at him like he just grew a second head.

"H-how are you still alive?!"

"Oh, that? An old trick I leaned from a video-game. Bullet-Time Dodge." he answered as he mimicked slowly falling backwards.

"Seriously?" Lelouch asked incredulously as he regained composure. "In order to get the timing right to pull off such a stunt convincingly, you'd need to see the exact moment the trigger was pulled."

Leonardo smiled. "And that's just what I did!"

His friend was far from convinced, something he understood as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, since you have a secret about your eyes now," Leonardo started, suddenly reminding Lelouch that he was most likely awake and aware of everything that had just happened. "I suppose it's only fair I show you mine."

The verdette next to Lelouch was equally as interested as Leonardo fully opened his eyes. And when they did open, it revealed glowing pools of blue that were filled with constantly shifting intricate patterns.

"It wouldn't be very far off to say that few things in this world escape my sight."


	2. Chapter 2

"Now idea how much further the author plans to go with this, but here's a second chapter. How he plans to have the world set up to combine the two series is something still in progress."

**(-)**

"Man, when I woke up this morning, this was the last thing I expected to happen today. Maybe I should invest some time into that horoscope stuff." Leonardo remarked dryly as Lelouch, the girl, and himself tried to determine what their next move should be.

Lelouch was of the mind to turn the situation to his advantage and rout Clovis' forces, Leonardo was more interested in getting out of the ghetto's with all his limbs still attached, and the girl seemed content in remaining quiet to see what they would do next.

"C'mon Lelouch, let's get the hell out of this death trap. We can save our explanations of this crazy stuff for later."

The former prince shook his head in the negative. "That won't be happening Leonardo. I cannot simply walk away after everything I have seen here."

"What do you mean?" Leonardo asked in confusion. "Gunfire and explosions around every corner; Seems like enough to make you _run _away!"

"And that is the exact reason for me wanting to stay." answered Lelouch. "Look around you; how many innocent Japanese civilians do you think are being slaughtered just so that foolish bastard Clovis can keep his unsightly secrets hidden?"

"I don't quite follow..."

Lelouch knew that whatever Leonardo's power was, it would be a great boon for him to have the teen on his side. And since the boy was always a morally sound person, he needed to play to his humanity. He was tempted to just Geass the boy, but Leonardo was one of Lelouch's genuine friends. So doing such a thing would only be a last resort. Besides, his eyes were probably closed enough to make it ineffective.

"Can you really walk away from this slaughter and condemn these people to death, even though you have the power to make a difference?" the Geass user asked as he gestured to the dead commander. "You heard what he said; these scum will do whatever it takes to retrieve the girl, and then they will likely purge this entire area to cover up the whole thing."

The verdette stood up as Lelouch offered his hand to her.

"She is by no means any form of poison gas, so that means our 'esteemed' Viceroy, Prince Clovis, has been hiding some rather unsightly Black-Ops projects from the public. Creation of chemical weaponry or human experimentation, regardless of which it was, they are both banned by international law. Not even a Prince such as him would be safe from the repercussions. So he mobilized his Royal Guard and is commencing an attack on the ghetto's, likely all under the guise of flushing out terrorists. But by this time tomorrow, the whole incident will be reported as nothing more than a routine patrol with minimal collateral damage."

Leonardo's lips curled into a frown as his hands balled into fists.

"So will you simply stand by while these horrors continue to unfold? Or will you use your power to do something about it?"

The narrow-eyed boy rubbed the back of his head with a sigh. "I never was meant to live a normal life, was I?" pulling out his phone, he made another call. "Zapp? It's me again. The Shinjuku ghetto is about to become a bloodbath. Do you think the boss would be interested in us taking part? Alright, see ya' soon."

Hanging up his phone, Leonardo managed a faint smile.

"My buddies will be fully mobilized in ten minutes."

Now it was Lelouch's turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

His friend chuckled weakly. "I may or may not be a member of a secret terrorist organisation..."

Any further explanation would have to be put on hold, as a purple Sutherland loomed through the hole that had been blasted in the side of the building. The pilot took note of the dead Royal Guard and held their rifle at the ready. A moment later a voice boomed from the external speakers.

"_I want answers from you three. What happened here? What are two Britannian students doing out here?"_

Lelouch was ready to activate his Geass and command the woman to come out, but Leonardo was the first to respond in his panicked state.

"Ahh! Please don't hurt us! We're just some hostages who escaped from captivity!" he cried as he held his arms up.

"_Hostages?"_

"If I had known being the heir to a Knightmare supply company would make me such a big target, I never would have come here!" the teen rattled off in fear as he collapsed to the ground.

Lelouch had to hand it to his friend, no Knight would dare pass up a chance to cozy up to an influential scion to nobility. Whether it be earning a personal favor or being put on the fast track to promotion, the woman who was piloting the Knightmare was sure to come out and check them for ID's.

Sure enough, the cockpit opened and a silver-haired woman descended from the interior with her gun at her side. She took a few steps towards the trio before she began barking orders.

"Stay where you are! I want you to slowly remove your ID's and slide them towards me!"

Of course, Lelouch had no intention of acquiescing to her orders, but rather he would Geass her. And he would have too, if it weren't for the sudden appearance of another woman who came up from behind the first, put her in a hold, and pinned her to the ground.

"What the-!"

The Knight was silenced as the newcomer grabbed her head and slammed it against the ground.

"_Don't talk."_ the woman ordered as she kept her hand on the back of the Knights neck. Her voice was distorted by the Japanese-styled mask she was wearing the bore the visage of a wolf.

Leonrado breathed a heavy sigh of relief as the threat was neutralized. "Nice timing Wolf. A few moments later and I would have been converted to a new religion..."

The woman, Wolf, did not look very enthused with Leonardo's remark. _"Holy... Real funny."_ she said in a bland tone. _"Maybe next time I should let the enemy fire off a couple rounds before I intervene."_

"No, no! That won't be necessary." Leonardo hastily replied as he broke out in sweat.

Wolf rolled her eyes beneath her mask, and snatched the pistol from the downed Knights holster and pressed it to the back of her head.

"Hold on!" Lelouch called out before Wolf could finish the job. Figuring out how the woman suddenly appeared could wait for later, right now he needed some questions to be answered. "It would be a waste to not take advantage of such a gift we have here." he explained as he knelt down in front of the Knight.

The woman let out a low growl as she glared at Lelouch. "I won't tell you anything!"

The teen smirked. "On the contrary; you will tell me everything I want to know~."

Activating his Geass, a red halo encircled the Knights eyes as she stopped resisting.

"**I want you to answer my questions."**

She nodded dully. "Yes sir."

If Wolf was at all surprised by Lelouch's ability, she didn't outwardly show it. Perhaps she was used to such anomalies with Leonardo.

"First off; who are you and what is your unit?"

"Villeta Nu, 8th Moblie Battalion of the Purebloods."

"What is your current mission?"

"Eradication of all Elevens and buildings within the Shinjuku ghetto."

Lelouch frowned. It was exactly as they feared, the whole area was being turned into a war zone. "Anything else? Something pertaining to the recovery of a stolen container?"

She shook her head. "No. I am not a genuine Pureblood, so anything that doesn't have to do with standard orders is kept from me. My superior may have more information, but that is unlikely."

"Name?"

"Margrave Jeramiah Gottwald."

Something tickled at the back of Lelouch's mind at the mention of that name. He knew he recognized it from somewhere. "Does he have any notable accolades?"

"He served as a high-ranking guard for Lady Marianne vi Britannia prior to her assassination at the Aries Villa."

His eyes widened in alarm before he quickly steeled his expression. "Did he have anything to do with her death?" he asked with barely restrained anger.

"Unsure. I personally believe he was uninvolved. He often laments about how he failed to protect Lady Marianne, as well as how he was unable to prevent her children from being exiled. He is still searching for them to this day."

Now that was a useful piece of information. Lelouch finally managed to sift through his memories and pick out what he remembered of Jeramiah. He was fiercely loyal to his mother and had often kept Nunally entertained when Marianne was busy. He was also conveniently absent from his post on the day of the attack, but so were many of the other guards. It was most likely that he was pulled from his post by someone of a higher ranking to allow the assassin entrance to the villa grounds.

"_Is there anything else you need from her?"_ asked Wolf. _"She has no pertinent information for our current situation, and time is of the essence."_

The former prince shook his head. **"Hand over your Knightmare to me."**

"Understood. The code is XG21G2D4"

"My thanks." he replied as he took the activation key from her. He then looked up at Wolf. "I intend for her to be a sleeper agent. So don't kill her."

The woman reluctantly relented and released Villeta from her hold.

"**Whenever I say the phrase 'For the False Crown', you will acknowledge me by answering 'I Shall give my Life'. You shall then follow my every command, answer any question I present as accurately as possible, and have no memory of yours actions afterwards. When I say 'Queen's Gambit', you shall return to your normal self. Now you will kneel on the ground for the next ten minutes, after which you may return to normal, with no recollection of what transpired here since the moment you saw us."**

"As you command." Villeta responded as she knelt on the ground and fell silent.

Lelouch had a satisfied smirk on his face as he admired his work. He then promptly remembered that he wasn't alone. "Well I know what I'm doing next, what about you three?"

"_Our operation in this sector shall commence soon. It would be in our best interest to cooperate should our goals align."_ was Wolf's curt response.

"Uhh, what she said, I guess." Leonardo added with a strained smile.

The verdette then stepped towards Lelouch. "You are my new contractor, so I will remain by your side."

As mysterious as that sentence may have been, now wasn't the time for them to dwell on what exactly it meant.

"_Me and Leonardo will be performing recon in preparation for the arrival of our comrades."_ Wolf stated as she pulled out a small communicator and tossed it to Lelouch. _"That will allow us to stay in contact."_

"Best of luck to you Lelouch!" Leonardo remarked as he pulled off his Ashford uniform and flipped up the hood on the jacket he had underneath. He then adjusted his goggles over his eyes, effectively hiding his identity from anyone who wasn't in close range of him.

Wolf nodded upon seeing Leonardo was ready. _"Commencing Operation. Seer, let's go."_

Leonardo nodded as he jogged over to Wolf. "Right. Where to, Wolf?"

As the duo made their way outside and out of sight, Lelouch looked down at the small device in his hands with a confident smirk.

**(-)**

Throughout the Shinjuku ghetto smoke could be seen rising into the sky from a distance. The periodic *boom* of an explosion accompanied by a flash of light would add another pillar of the black clouds. Right now the Elevens -no- the Japanese were being murdered en-masse by Clovis' forces and the Purebloods. They held no remorse or hesitation for the people they slaughtered, seeing them not as human beings, but faceless numbers.

Such a concept made him sick.

Being of Noble birth himself, he understood that there would always be a schism between the upper-class and the lower-class. But a Noble's duty is to protect and nurture their subjects, not enslave and abuse. However this belief was an unpopular one among the ruling class, and it was one of the reasons that the Reinhertz family was often ostracized by other Noble's. Despite being one of the top providers of Knightmare production materials, their companies political views often resulted in rival corporations stealing their business. Still, it's not like they were ever short on loyal customers. For example; that friendly group of patrons who operate out of Kyoto.

But that was irrelevant at the moment. The scion of the Reinhertz family had traveled to Shinjuku for something other than a business venture. As their car sped down the freeway, the occupants looked over their equipment one last time before they arrived at their destination. Each person was well dressed, wearing formal attire of varying types that was stitched with a special fire-proof, damage resistant thread. Aside from their fancy clothes, each passenger wore a black hood and a mask to conceal their identities.

"_Alright everyone," _came the distorted voice of the individual in the passenger seat. The speaker was obviously male and had a rather large build. His mask was solid white, save for a red line that vertically divided the mask in half, along with a horizontal line that ran under his eyes to form a cross. _"due to the sudden nature of this operation, we are the only available combatants. I know it sounds a bit risky, but the lives of thousands hinge on our participation. We've faced tougher odds before, so I expect everyone to make it out of this alive."_

The man driving the car, whose face was entirely covered in bandages, nodded his assent. "As you say, sir. We should arrive within the next five minutes."

A soft chuckle came from the man dressed in a white suit and wearing a mask decorated with flames. _"Time to smoke some bad guys!"_

**(-)**

It had only been a short while since he had parted ways with Lelouch, but Leonardo had already made his way to a decent vantage point that overlooked the ghetto. His eyes were wide open now as he took note of every enemy patrol throughout the sector. Their numbers, squad formations, movements, armaments, all of it was on open display for him. And he was feeding all this information to Lelouch and his comrades via his communicator.

"Two Sutherlands plus eight foot-soldiers searching a parking garage on 7th street. One VTOL providing over-watch for three tanks plus additional ground forces as they pass by Ozaki Park." he rattled off clearly before swallowing hard at his next sight. "Fifty-plus soldiers gunning down residents fleeing a burning apartment complex..."

Sometimes he really hated what he saw, but he knew this was a job only he could do.

"_Hey, Seer!" _

Leo startled at the sudden shout from the other end of the line. It was no surprise to him of who it was. "Yeah Blaze?"

"_We get it, depressing as hell shit going on all around us. But now ain't the time to get sad about it, now's the time to get angry! We gotta kick these bastards to the curb!"_

The teen grunted in acknowledgement as he shook away the dark thoughts in his head. "Right! I'll keep it up until you get here! I'm feeling a little exposed without you watching my back!" he responded just as his eyes caught sight of something interesting. "What's this? A train packed full of Sutherlands but not a pilot to be seen? I think I see an opportunity~!"

Taking a moment to plot the course of the train, Leonardo sent the best point for interception to his friends before switching his call to Lelouch.

"Hey Lelouch, I know you're a master at chess, so how would you like to put some pieces on the board?"

**(-)**

Private Franklin Borough leaned his back against the side of the train car he was stationed in as he pulled out a cigarette and lit the end. He was one of the several soldiers who made up the skeleton crew on the train that was heading deep into the Shinjuku ghetto to provide more Sutherlands for the forces already deployed there. Of course Clovis had either forgotten or deemed it unnecessary to have the pilots ride in on the train. So it was the duty of Franklin and four others to guard the Knightmares as the train pulled into the station. But in his opinion 'guard' was a rather strong word considering how things were setup. They had only been armed with pistols, which made sense since they only had basic firearms training. Their job was more along the line of Knightmare maintenance, hence the reason they were the only soldiers present. Not ten minutes ago they were busy doing routine checkups at a storage depot.

Borough took a long drag of his cigarette and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Where in the job description did it say we would act as delivery men? I don't care how safe they say we are, I still don't like riding into a battlefield with nothing but a pea-shooter."

The sudden sound of something slamming on the roof of the car was enough to jar the private from his complaining.

"What the hell was that?" he wondered aloud. "I hope the damn ghetto isn't collapsing on top of us already."

The door at the end of the car swung open without warning, and the entire room was buffeted by freezing cold winds and particles of ice. Borough's cigarette flew out of his mouth as he raised his arms to shield his face from the bite of the chill. And standing at the center of the storm was a well-dressed individual whose face was obscured by a mask covered with images of jagged spikes of ice. The man sent a literal chill down Borough's spine.

"W-who?" the soldier spoke through chattering teeth.

"_Pardon my intrusion. I'm just here to borrow some Knightmares."_

Warning bells that were already ringing, were suddenly swung into overdrive within Borough's mind.

"_This is my train now. And I don't seem to see a ticket on you."_

**(-)**

After narrowly escaping the Purebloods who were chasing her, through the help of an unknown combatant, Kallen Kozuki was making her way towards the front of the train she boarded with her Glasgow. Although she had no idea who this mysterious voice was, they had earned her temporary trust with their timely aid. Eventually the train began to slow down and pulled in to a derelict station in the ghettos. And through coincidence or unseen machinations, the rest of her resistance cell were already there to greet her.

"Kallen! You holding up okay?!" shouted Ohgi, the leader of their group.

"_Running low on Energy, but other than that I'm doing fine." _she answered through the Glasgows speakers. _"How did you know I would be here?"_

"_Same way you ended up on the roof of the train." _a distorted voice responded. "_Mister radio-man."_

Multiple sets of eyes snapped towards the lone individual who had just disembarked from the train. Guns were in the process of being raised at the man, but he quickly held his hands up.

"_Hold on now, no need to get violent. I'm just the delivery man for the evening."_

"Who the hell are you?!" barked Tamaki as he waved his gun at the man.

"_The name's Frost, but for now you can call me Santa Claus," _he answered as he pressed a button on the side of the train car, causing the compartments to open up and reveal their contents; roughly two dozen Sutherlands that were loaded for bear. _"'cause Christmas came early kiddo's."_

Ohgi's radio came to life without warning, and the same voice from earlier spoke once more.

"_I take it that you are happy with my gift?"_

The resistance leader could only chuckle weakly as Tamaki had already run over and started hugging one of the machines. "Very much so."

"_Excellent. Now since I did you a kindness, I'd appreciate it if you'd hear me out. I have a plan to turn the tide of this battle and put those Brits in their place. All I ask is that you follow my orders without question."_

With how badly things were currently going, it wasn't like Ohgi had much left to lose if he joined forces with the mysterious voice. "Very well. I'm putting my trust in you to get us out of this mess."

"_I assure you that this will be a decision you won't come to regret."_

The masked man nodded as Ohgi and the radio-man reached an accord, and began to walk off. _"Well then, this is where we part ways, my good sir."_

"What do you mean?"

Frost tapped his heel against the ground as he turned his head slightly to regard Ohgi one last time. _"Contrary to what you might have assumed, the radio guy and myself aren't part of the same group. We just have aligning goals for the time being. Which happens to be thwarting this senseless slaughter. I gotta regroup with my team now."_

Before Ohgi could get another word in, the man took off down one of the tunnels and quickly vanished from sight.

"... Just what the hell is going on around here?"

**(-)**

Sir Dowder was making his way down the streets of the Shinjuku ghetto with a small contingent of soldiers accompanying his Sutherland. General Bartley had assigned his squad the task of mopping up any forms of civilian resistance on street level. That being said, their job was piss-easy. The Eleven's were armed with small-arms weaponry that was at least a decade or more old. Combined with a complete lack of combat training, and this assignment was little more than target practice for them. But at the same time, Dowder was getting antsy for some real action. The most he had done so far was use his slash-harkens to collapse a few roofs on top of people.

So he could be forgiven for not expecting to see one of his men go around a street corner, only to have the severed top-half of his body fly out and skid across the street.

The Knight was immediately on alert as his remaining men formed up in a defensive formation.

"Conrad is down! Did anybody hear shots fired?!" yelled one of the foot-soldiers as he kept his gun-sight trained on the corner of the building.

"Negative! No sign of a shooter!"

"That couldn't be from a normal gun!"

Dowder quickly took action and took up position at the corner before leaning one of his Knightmare's sensors around to see what was there. What he saw left him confused. A single person wearing a white jacket who was leaning up against a telephone pole, not even facing them. In his hands was some kind of lighter that he was fiddling with.

"_Enemy contact! A single foot-mobile!" _Dowder shouted as he rushed out from behind his cover, followed by the rest of his men who had their weapons at the ready.

"_Surrender now or you will be executed!"_

The man, at least judging by their physique, lazily turned his head towards them, revealing a mask patterned with flames. _"Tell me; how much blood have you fuckheads spilled today?"_ the man asked with a distorted voice. _"A lot of people call this ghetto their home, and you've come along to shoot the whole damn place up. How'd you like it if I went into your neighborhood and did the same? I'd think you'd be pretty pissed off."_

"_Last warning! On the ground or we will shoot!"_

The man shook his head. _"Not even gonna acknowledge all the people you killed, huh? Even serial killers keep track of their victims. I guess that makes you even worse."_

Dowder was ready to give the order to fire, but he spotted something on his factsphere sensor. It looked like thin red-wires that were hanging in the air.

Raising up his hand, the masked man pointed his lighter at Dowder's Sutherland. _"Get smoked!"_

As he flicked the primer of his lighter, a powerful blaze suddenly erupted in the air and surrounded Dowder and his men. The conflagration grew into an explosive force of flames, reducing the men to ash and turning Dowder's Knightmare into molten slag, killing all present.

"_Ashes to ashes, and all that crap..." _the man remarked with a huff as he walked off.


End file.
